Acne and Stress

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 at 5:45 pm

Do you notice if your acne becomes worse when you get upset? If work gets you stressed out, is your skin susceptible to more breakouts? Dermatologists have argued for a long time over what the connection between acne and stress is.

Not only is heredity a major factor in your chances of developing acne, many doctors now realize this embarrassing condition can also be related to other factors such as poor diet and stress.

It’s been known that high stress levels can affect your immune system in a negative way. It doesn’t matter what type of illness you suffer with, the amount of stress you have can make things harder to heal or worsen your overall condition.

It’s a fact people produce more hormones as a reaction to stress or being upset. Oil glands are especially impacted by male hormones. The result is too much sebum is produced when the gland becomes overactive. Acne will generally occur once the pores become clogged with too much sebum.

It is stress that enables acne to become worse, but it also produces an undesirable appearance in your skin. This is because sebum is affected by stress and in too large amounts can produce cortisol from the adrenal glands. This can make your skin look more oily on the surface because of the cortisol being released directly into your oil glands.

Even if your treating your acne with a store bought treatment or a prescription from a doctor. If you lower your stress it will make a huge difference in the appearance in your skin.

Here are some tips to lower your stress so that you can fight acne more effectively. If you follow some of these ideas, your breakouts will likely get better and you will feel better too.

* Exercise more! Even a few minutes a day of exercise can help lower stress levels. One of the best known ways of lowering stress is through exercise. Most people hate to exercise, but really it’s a matter of doing something that is not only fun, but that you enjoy. If you change how you think about exercise to reflect something more positive you are more likely to stick with it.

* Exercise – It’s been known that exercising is one of the best ways for reducing stress. In less than 30 minutes you can relieve tension, stress and anxiety. Try going for a walk or doing something fun. Many people get stuck thinking that exercise is unpleasant when it doesn’t have to be. By changing your view of exercise you’re more likely to do it and do it regularly.

* Make changes in what you eat. One of the biggest things you can do for your health is eat better. Too much sugar in the diet is bad for your skin and can cause behavioral issues in young people. Increase the amount of vegetables and fruit you eat and lower the amount of sugar and processed foods. Not only will you look better your health will greatly improve.

* Get outside – Being outside not only helps relieve stress, but getting some sun will stimulate Vitamin D production in your skin which leads to better looking skin. Even a small amount of time outside will have positive affects on your body.

No matter what type of acne treatment you choose to help fight acne, by reducing your stress you increase your chances of having beautiful skin and a healthier life.